those @#$%&*! silks (READ THIS!)

[Ron Nossaman]

>I recently posted my "invention", that  makes it virtually UNnecessary to 
>EVER have to replace these "silks" again.
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> I do NOT use silk, 
>or carpet thread or anything of the sort, but rather 15lb. monofilament! 
>I've done several complete jobs (another this Saturday) and can say 
>positively that these loops will NOT break for the life of the piano! 
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>Terry Peterson

Years back, Player Piano Company, here in Wichita, started selling
pre-formed  polyurethane pouches as a magic, perfect, immortal, one time,
forever more replacement for those feeble old leather pouches that only
worked for fifty years or so, and then crapped out. The untrustworthy,
old-style leather pouches they were using in their Wurlitzer style valve
blocks for their rewind pneumatic, and "O" roll spool frames were
immediately discontinued, and the new miracle material was universally
embraced. It was embraced by Universal too, before they even started
production, but that's another story. To make a long sad story a short sad
story, these immortal wonder pouches began to fall apart, sometimes within
a year of installation, sometimes later, but relentlessly and inevitably.
The shelved stock deteriorated at a similar rate, and customers were being
shipped pre-packaged, pre-rotted pouch sets as well as spool frames and
rewind pneumatics with non-functional valves, for some time before all the
magic polyurethane was purged from the shelves if not from the memories of
it's experienced users. 

There's a similar, but less dramatic story regarding the use of neoprene
for valve surfaces. It wasn't as spectacularly disastrous, but it was/is
really mediocre for a lot longer. Then there's Corfam, which should have
worked forever, but the supplier made this little inconsequential change in
the formula... but that's in a little different category.

I submit that monofilament is VASTLY less expensive and more readily
obtainable than silk, even if it's glow in the dark Trilene, and if piano
manufacturers had even a faint faith that it would last anywhere near as
long as silk in this application, they'd probably use it. But that's just a
guess. I could be wrong.

Ron N